You know what they say: if you can’t stand the heat…get out of the kitchen!
And if there’s one thing traditional non-stick pans can’t handle, it’s heat—at least not without breaking down and leaching toxic chemicals into the food they’re frying up.
When we go to great lengths to ensure we eat as healthy as possible, we don’t want to get thwarted in our efforts at the last minute simply by what we cook our food in.
Non-toxic bakeware and non-toxic cookware brands not only make longer-lasting, more sustainable kitchen products, but those that ensure the only things your body is absorbing are wholesome nutrients.
So, in the spirit on healthy eating, we’re serving up the healthiest cookware made by brands who not only use safe materials that are back by certifications but also ethical labor and green business practices.
We’re also soon to launch our new Brand Rating System. This comprehensive systems looks at brands across a range of eco-criteria, including climate impact, and water and chemical use. You can learn more about it here.
We independently research all featured brands and we ask them to confirm their claims. In many cases we personally review recommended products. This post contains affiliate links which means we may earn a commission if you buy something. Learn more here.
The Best Non-Toxic Cookware Brands To Invite To Dinner
Here are our specials for the evening’s article.
The ceramic coated cookware by Caraway won’t leach anything into your food, making it some of the healthiest cookware that’s also 60% more environmentally friendly than Teflon cookware. Plus, we’ve tested it and can safely say we’ve never flipped a smoother egg.
If you’re after stainless steel cookware, Material provides extremely durable, stainless steel cookware proven to last 37x longer than ceramic.
Index: Healthiest Cookware Brands
- Caraway Jump to brand
- Xtrema Jump to brand
- Material Jump to brand
- Our Place Jump to brand
- Great Jones Jump to brand
- Kana Jump to brand
- 360 Cookware Jump to brand
Caraway
About Caraway
Price Range: $95–$145
Even if you’re a kitchen noob, non-toxic cooking is easy with Caraway’s colorful collection of frying pans, sauté pans, saucepans, and Dutch ovens. Each piece is suitable for ovens and all cooktops.
If you’re looking to clean up your whole cookware cabinet, a Caraway non-toxic ceramic cookware set will help make every meal a little healthier. And if you’re in need of plastic-free food storage options for the leftovers you’ll inevitably have, Caraway offers safe food storage sets, too.
Caraway’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
All Caraway cookware is made possible by a PTFE, lead, cadmium, PFAS, and PFOA-free ceramic coating. Its aluminum core is durable and conducts heat extremely well—so well that you should only use the cookware on low to medium temperatures.
Ceramic coated cookware also requires less oil when cooking and less scrubbing with your zero waste dish soap when cleaning. However, it should be kept away from metal utensils and abrasive scrubbers. The all-metal body and stainless steel handles make these oven safe cookware sets—which come with biodegradable cork trivets to set on after.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Caraway’s BSCI and SMETA-certified manufacturing partners in China are chosen because of their fair pay, safe working environments, employee benefits, and regulated work hours.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Not only are Caraway cookware sets non-toxic, but manufacturing their ceramic coating created 60% less CO2. They use recycled cardboard, low-impact dyes, and zero plastic bags.
My Personal Review of Caraway’s Cookware Set:
“I’ve been using Caraway cookware for over two years, and I’m happy to report that the ceramic coating is still in great shape. I strongly recommend sticking to low to medium heat since these pans conduct heat more efficiently than others. I found this out the hard way by overheating a pan and creating a burn mark that I can’t seem to remove. I also like to apply coconut oil to the coating occasionally, as it’s a natural way to protect and rejuvenate ceramic non-stick.
While all the pieces are very practical, my favorite is the Dutch Oven. It’s perfect for soups, and its all-metal body means it’s oven-safe, too. I use it to bake bread in.”
Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content
Xtrema
About Xtrema
Price Range: $50—$380
Xtrema offers 100% ceramic cookware, which comes in a range of pots, pans, skillets, dutch ovens, and bakeware. Bring one of their Versa non-toxic pots to a boil, then safely simmer to perfection.
Wait, is ceramic cookware safe?
Considering theirs is doctor and nutritionist-recommended, yes. Pure ceramic cookware pots and pans won’t change the taste of the food or leach chemicals, lead, cadmium, or metal.
Xtrema’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Unlike ceramic-coated cookware, being 100% mineral clay means they won’t get scratched, revealing toxic metals underneath.
It’s also non-reactive, free of PFOA, PTFE, nanoparticles, glues, polymers, dyes, and coatings, and meets California Prop 65 standards, making it some of the best non-toxic cookware that won’t stick to your food.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Xtrema is family-owned and operated, but their healthy cooking pans are handmade in China due to the country’s renowned ceramic manufacturing.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
While designing durable, single-material products is a huge step toward reducing impact, we’ll touch base for more information on the carbon commitment front from this brand, either in reducing manufacturing emissions or carbon offset programs.
Community & charitable giving:
Xtrema’s fulfillment centers employ those who otherwise have trouble finding jobs through a partnership with Goodwill.
My Personal Review of Xtrema’s Wok:
“I recently tried Xtrema’s ceramic non-stick wok, and I’m really impressed. The heat distributes evenly, and the toxin-free ceramic surface makes stir-frying super easy without needing extra oil. Clean-up is a breeze, though I did find it a bit heavier than I anticipated, which might be something to keep in mind if you prefer lighter pans. The wok also has two side handles instead of one long one, so pouring can be a little tricky and takes two people: one to hold both handles and tip it, and the other to serve.”
Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content
Material
About Material
Price Range: $95—$295
Material places a lot of emphasis on what their products are made from. Their copper and stainless steel cookware options are limited but essential, featuring a saucepan, sauté pan, nonstick frying pan, and a set of all three.
These dishwasher safe pots and pans are affordably priced to boot (er, boil?).
Material’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Materials offers only the safest cookware materials: stainless steel and aluminum coated with a stainless steel alloy coating that’s free of cadmium, lead, fumes, PFOA, and other Teflon toxins. The alloy aspect makes it fully safe, even when cooking acidic foods.
At the center of all their healthy cooking pans is a 5-ply copper core, which ensures excellent heat conductivity.
Supply chain & labor practices:
Material’s stainless steel PFOA-free cookware is made through ethical compliant partners in the US, Europe, China, and South Korea, though we’re not certain what specific projections are in place.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Material’s stainless steel nonstick coating is shown to last 37x longer than ceramic coated cookware. Their staple line (limited edition products aside) is backed by a lifetime guarantee of repair or replacement.
Our Place
About Our Place
Price Range: $60–$300
While Our Place’s range of safe cookware and eco-friendly dinnerware is limited, the versatility of each piece more than makes up for it.
The Always Pan is the crown jewel of their collection. This multi-functional piece simplifies things for home chefs by replacing eight different types of cookware. And it works on any cooktop.
When paired with the Perfect Pot via the Home Cook Duo, which can replace a stock pot, Dutch oven, roasting rack, steamer, sauce pot, strainer, braiser, and spoon rest, you have everything you need—all with just two items.
Our Place’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Both pieces of ceramic-coated cookware feature a partially recycled aluminum body and integrated beechwood spatula/spoon. The ceramic nonstick coating does not contain nanoparticles, cadmium, lead, PFOAs (PFAS, or PTFE).
Supply chain & labor practices:
Products are made in SEDEX, SA8000, ISO, and/or BSCI-audited factories across China, Thailand, and Mexico.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Multi-functional products are always more sustainable because they mean you have to purchase fewer things—in Our Place’s case, fourteen fewer things! They come shipped in plastic-free, recyclable, and biodegradable materials.
My Personal Review of Our Place’s Always Pan 2.0:
“If you haven’t heard of the Always Pan yet, I can confirm that it’s a total game-changer. This one pan replaces so many others; it really is the hero of my kitchen. I’ve been using it every day for over a year, mostly for stir-fries and Asian dishes, which it absolutely nails.
I also grabbed the bamboo steamer basket to pair with it. While the Always Pan comes with a metal steamer, which is perfect for a lot of things (I even use it to wash my fruit and veg), the bamboo one lets me steam more delicate stuff, like steamed buns.”
Review by Amber McDaniel, SJ’s Head of Content
Great Jones
About Great Jones
Price Range: $75—$190
Backed by big name chefs like Momofuku’s David Chang, Great Jones takes the “great” part of their name very seriously. That means standing out among toxic, plain metal cookware.
Their vibrant selection of cookware comprises stockpots, skillets, warming dishes, bread pans, and sauce pots, all designed to add a splash of color to your kitchen without sacrificing functionality. For one of the safest frying pans with the coolest name, check out the King Sear.
Great Jones’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Great Jones’ non-stick cookware is made from enamelled cast iron, stainless steel and/or ceramic. The non-reactive stainless steel cookware won’t impact flavors, and the aluminum core distributes heat evenly. Stainless steel pans contain trace amounts of nickel, but they’re free of Teflon. Instead, a non-toxic ceramic coating is used with some of the fry pans.
The Dutch oven cast iron cookware is made of oven-safe cast iron enamel that works well with extremely high heat and doesn’t require seasoning.
Supply chain & labor practices:
While we know they partner with “vetted” manufacturers in Guangdong and Tianjin (China) and the USA, we don’t know any further details about their ethical practices and haven’t received a reply to our inquiry.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Though backed by a limited lifetime warranty, even the best non-stick cookware eventually loses its non-stick ability. When that happens, Great Jones accepts it back to be recycled or (if still usable) donated to Hot Bread Kitchen.
Kana
About Kana
Price Range: $125—$270
Kana’s Milo line of non-toxic pots and pans aren’t your average collection of enamelled cast iron cookware.
Available in colors like the food-inspired Dijon, they add modern flare to a tried and true material that makes up their Dutch ovens and skillets, all backed with a lifetime warranty. Shop singles or get it all in a three, four, or five-piece cast iron pots and pans set.
Kana’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices
Materials:
Featuring 40% recycled cast iron, a stainless steel knob, and a TOMATEC™ enamel surface, this non-stick cookware doesn’t require seasoning and is free of PFOA and PTFE.
All Milo products are oven safe (to 500°F), dishwasher safe, and have been tested for REACH and California Prop 65 compliance (i.e. free of 800 dangerous chemicals).
Supply chain & labor practices:
Kana’s oven-safe cookware sets are designed in California and manufactured in family-owned factories in compliance with ISO 9001, ISO 14001, and ISO 45001 standards. Being BSCI-certified, they provide fair pay and safe working environments.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
Thanks to EcoCart, you’ll receive your order via carbon-neutral shipping.
360 Cookware
About 360 Cookware
Price range: $148–$3,768
360 Cookware runs circles around traditional toxic cookware. They’ve done their research on what makes for heirloom quality, safe cookware sets—all backed by a lifetime warranty.
360 Cookware has a huge range of stainless steel cookware that includes stock pots, saucepans, frying pans, sauté pans, and more. For the full chef’s sampler, go for their 21-Piece Cookware Set.
360Cookware’s Ethical & Sustainability Practices:
Materials:
Promising you the safest cookware material, each piece features an aluminum core and a stainless steel outer that’s free of all PFOAs, including PFAS, PFOS, and PTFE.
Supply chain & labor practices:
With a small team of 20 located in Wisconsin, this brand is close to claiming “American-made” status, but some bakeware materials are imported from China and South Korea. While their US factory has transparency about competitive wages, IRAs for employees, and health care, there isn’t as much information about their partners in Asia.
Carbon commitments & green practices:
As far as non-toxic cookware brands go, 360 is one of the few that doesn’t require EPA permits (meaning environmentally safe manufacturing practices). We’d love to hear more about this though to have details to reinforce their claim to being “the greenest cookware factory in the world”.
Why Choose Healthy Non-Stick Pans?
The answer to this question boils down to a few things: whether your non-stick cookware is coated with toxins and if the main material you’re using is safe.
Most nonstick cookware isn’t great for human health or our planet.
Many of the chemicals found in a standard non-stick cookware are considered “forever chemicals”. That means they take decades to leave our bodies and never break down in the environment.
Per- or poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are a group of thousands of chemicals used to coat consumer goods. The two most notorious of the bunch are PFOA and PFOS, which have been banned in the U.S. after being linked to serious health and environmental problems.
So while we’re normally proponents of using what you have until it’s non-functional, in this case, we say, “Toss the Teflon pans!”
While PFOA is now illegal in the US, Teflon’s new polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) alternative is just as harmful. These “GenX” chemicals still fumes odorless toxins beyond 400°F that result in flu-like symptoms.
So what is non-toxic cookware?
Or rather, what is the least toxic type of cookware?
Ceramic pots and pans are made from renewable and natural resources (clay and sand), and are free of toxins.
But look out for added coats and be wary of scratching it and revealing the potentially toxic metal beneath. For that reason, pure ceramic cookware is the safest bet.
Cast iron cookware is incredibly durable and retains as well as distributes heat evenly, making it a great eco-friendly option. It’s naturally non-toxic, and if seasoned properly, remains non-stick for decades.
Glass yields one of the healthiest cookware options. It ticks all the boxes: oven-safe, dishwasher-safe, microwave, fridge/freezer safe, and naturally non-stick, so it doesn’t need coating. Vintage Pyrex has high-quality options for glass pots and pans.
If you’re wondering, “Is stainless steel cookware non-toxic?”, know that it’s anti-corrosive and fairly scratch resistant.
But when exposed to acidic foods, stainless steel cookware can mean metal leaching. Stainless steel alloys can alleviate this.
What cookware should you avoid?
Let’s talk aluminum: are aluminum pans safe?
It’s tricky, because aluminum itself is sustainable and highly heat conductive, but shouldn’t touch food directly. This is because it can leach metal particles into your food.
If you know your coated pan has an aluminum core, look out for scratches.
This is why it’s important to not use metal utensils to flip and sauté, and never go above the recommended heat range of your pots and pans.
Most of the time, getting rid of the “stick” compromises sustainability. A good rule of thumb is to avoid this type of cookware unless a brand is transparent about exactly what it is and what it’s free of.
